“I discovered bid writing almost by accident; a chance suggestion opened the door to an industry I hadn’t known existed”.
Life after university
When I graduated from university with a politics degree, I knew for certain that I loved writing and researching. What I didn’t know was how to turn that passion into a stable career, and what route to take. At university, I contributed to a range of small publications, writing about different topics and exploring my interests. Writing was something I genuinely enjoyed, but despite researching writing-based careers, I struggled to find a clear route into an industry that both combined a stable income and my love for writing.
Like many graduates, I found myself continuing to work in my pub job post-graduation, eventually becoming a manager. The job gave me valuable leadership, organisation and people management skills, as well as the ability to work under pressure and juggle competing priorities. Although I enjoyed this job, I knew it looked very different from the job I wanted long term, but didn’t know what route to take my career search in.
The turning point came when an old housemate suggested bid writing – a career I had never previously heard of.
Discovering the world of bids
Despite having spent plenty of time researching writing-based careers, bid writing was completely new to me. It wasn’t an industry I had come across during university or in any of my research post-graduation. Nevertheless, I started looking into it and quickly became interested in the idea of using writing to help businesses win work. I began applying for bid-based roles while still living in Manchester, eventually securing a position as an in-house Bid Coordinator and Writer at a Manchester-based engineering firm.
Working as a bid coordinator gave the opportunity to develop a new set of professional skills and understand what goes into preparing a successful bid. I learned about the tendering process, working collaboratively with many different teams, managing many different deadlines concurrently and turned complex information into tenders.
My experience also showed me how much work goes on behind the scenes. It showed me that the tendering process isn’t just about putting words onto a page, it’s a whole process that involves understanding the clients needs, identifying what makes your business stand out and then communicating that effectively. I gained valuable experience and a much better understanding of the industry.
Taking the next step
After two years, I decided it was time for a new challenge. I left Manchester ready to take my experience to the next stage of my career.
Last March I started my position as a Bid and Content Writer with Phoenix. Moving from an in-house role into a consultancy has given me a much broader perspective on the bidding process. Rather than focusing on the needs of one organisation, I now work with a range of businesses and have been exposed to much larger and complex tier one bids. The opportunities I have worked on so far have been so varied and so interesting as a result. Working with so many different businesses has helped me understand a wide range of goals, challenges and ways of working.
I discovered bid writing almost by accident; a chance suggestion opened the door to an industry I hadn’t known existed. Joining Phoenix has allowed me to continue developing my skills and work on ever more interesting bids. Looking back to graduation, the career I had been looking for was in a field I didn’t even know existed.
